Hawks back to Square 1

Unable to take advantage of rules designed to boost offensive output

In a world in which change seems the only constant, there is comfort in the status quo.

Unless you're the Blackhawks, and then it means staying locked in the NHL basement.

After a season lost to labor strife and radical rule changes that have the league bearing little resemblance to what it was only two years ago, the Hawks find themselves in nearly the identical place they were after 40 games in 2003-04.

At this point then, the Hawks were 10-19-7-4 for 31 points, one point ahead of the 30 points they have going into Game 41 against the Nashville Predators on Sunday at the United Center.

The names certainly have changed. Only Tuomo Ruutu, Kyle Calder, Mark Bell and Tyler Arnason remain, and although it may seem hard to believe, the current Hawks are ahead of the 2003-04 version in many statistical categories.

The Hawks' biggest problem this season has been a lack of offense, which has been magnified by the liberal rule changes and the higher offensive output of every NHL team this season.

In 2003-04, NHL games resembled taffy pulls. As difficult as it is for the Hawks to score now, their offensive production looks potent compared to then.

The Hawks scored only 75 goals in their first 40 games in 2003-04, an average of 1.88 per game. Their leading goal scorer was Calder with 10, and Steve Sullivan 's 22 points led the team.

This season the Hawks have scored 103 goals in their first 40 games for an average of 2.58 per game. While that's an improvement for them, it still ranks 29th in the more offensive-minded NHL.

Another constant is the woeful power play, which was clicking at just 11.1 percent at this point two years ago, 28th in the league. Again, the percentage this season is slightly better at 13 percent, but they're still near the bottom the league at 29th.

Defensively, in another example of a higher-scoring league, the Hawks have allowed 141 goals this year compared to 107 after 40 games in 2003-04. Their penalty killing two seasons ago stood at 85 percent, which ranked 13th in the league. This season the penalty killing is up to sixth in the NHL at 84.8 percent.

Although the Hawks have not lived up to their preseason expectations, there have been some bright spots, namely the play of rookie defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

By this time in 2003-04, former general manager Bob Pulford and assistant Dale Tallon were formulating plans to jettison veterans such as captain Alex Zhamnov, Nathan Dempsey, Jon Klemm, Stephane Robidas and Sullivan for younger players and draft picks.

The salary cap that emerged from the lockout allowed the Hawks to be players in a free-agent market that they used to watch from the sidelines.

The results haven't worked out as planned. As the Hawks close the first half of this season they are nearly back to Square 1, hoping their prospects in juniors are as good as they believe and still searching for the right mix of veterans to surround them.